Ryan Reynolds chose not to become close with his on-screen children. He was not mean or rude to them, just very distant. So distant in fact that the children often confided to those on the set that "Ryan doesn't like us!" Reynolds said that he did not want to "fall in love" with the kids. He did this so that when George Lutz started changing, he would have no trouble easing into the verbal and physical abuse.
Just before shooting began, the body of a fisherman who had been murdered washed up on the bank of the river right near the main house.
Ryan Reynolds wore special contact lenses in many scenes to make his eyes seem black with just a white ring around them.